(Photo Credit: Dale Rutemeyer/GoMocs.com) Senior Ronrico White netted the Mocs first buzzer-beater win since 2010 in a 61-58 win at UNCG to close the regular season
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GREENSBORO, N.C.---Ronrico White proved he has a flair for the dramatic. The senior from Knoxville drilled a three at the buzzer to elevate the Chattanooga Mocs to a 61-58 Southern Conference win at UNCG Saturday evening.
"It felt good (leaving the hand),” White said. “I have to give credit to coach Casey (Long). We worked on this three weeks ago after I missed one at Mercer. He (Tevon Saddler) guarded my first move perfectly. It came down to me having to hit a tough shot."
White gave the Mocs the lead, 58-57, inside a minute to go with a jumper. Diante Baldwin tied it with 36 seconds to go making one of two free throws. Coach Will Wade called timeout with 11.3 to go to set up White's heroics.
“I felt like Rico had the hot hand,” Wade explained. “We were supposed to slip the ball-screen there, and it was going to be him driving left, with Eric (Robertson) in the corner. They did a nice job of bottling it up a little bit, and he just made a big play. There's not a lot of coaching that goes into that.
“He just hit a big shot, made a big play and it was great for us.”
Greg Pryor in-bounded the ball into the backcourt to White. He dribbled into the frontcourt. Saddler picked him up off the ball-screen. White stepped back and drilled the three under pressure for the win.
"I wanted to take the last shot,” he added. “I went at six seconds. I knew I'd have four or five dribbles and then get the shot off very quickly. That's what I wanted to do. I felt like I was in a good rhythm in the game. I didn't play that well early, but other guys picked me up.
“Everybody was there and contributed."
White led all scorers with 15 points. Casey Jones added 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while Duke Ethridge chipped in 10 points and eight boards. Justin Tuoyo had five of the Mocs nine blocks moving into second-place on the SoCon's season blocks list with 102, four behind former UNCG great Kyle Hines' 106 in 2004-05.
The Spartans were paced by R.J. White. The sophomore big man came off the bench for 14 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Diante Baldwin added nine points and five steals.
Kayel Locke put the home team up by 12, 41-29, with 15:13 to play. Eric Robertson ignited the Mocs on their next possession. The SoCon's leading 3pt shooter drained a trey at 14:51. Just over six minutes later, Jones drained two free throws to cap a 19-5 spurt to take a two-point lead, 48-46.
White's three-point play with 6:19 remaining, pushed the lead to five, 53-48. UNCG scored seven unanswered to take a two-point advantage, 55-53, on Nicholas Paulos' layup at 2:18. Chattanooga made three of four free throws to get back to a point ahead, but R.J. White's layup with 1:04 to go got the Spartans back on top to set up Ronrico White's heroics.
“We were down in the second half by 12 and we withstood it,” Wade continued. “You have to be able to win those types of games. You have to be able to keep it together. Our guys have a great spirit to them and a great belief about them.
“We're a team that can win different ways,” he added. “We won a fast-paced game against VMI, and we won a little more half-court game, a low-scoring affair here tonight in Greensboro, and that's what you need to be able to do in the tournament.”
Chattanooga is now 22-9, 15-3 in the Southern Conference. UNCG falls to 10-21, 6-12 in the league. The 22 wins in the regular season are the most since the 1992-93 squad won 23 en route to a 26-7 campaign.
Wade has something to celebrate. He is just the fourth Mocs coach (Mack McCarthy 42, Ron Shumate 40, Jeff Lebo 40) to record 40 wins in his first two seasons. His 27 league wins is the most by a Chattanooga mentor in school history.
“It means we have great players and staff,” Wade concluded. “It's been a good regular season. Now we have the opportunity to go to Asheville and make it a special one.”
The regular season is completed which brings us to the championship calendar. The Southern Conference Championship returns to the U.S. Cellular Center in the Asheville Civic Center. Tourney week starts Thursday for the women and runs through Monday.
The Mocs begin play Saturday the seventh as the No. 2 seed facing the winner of (7) The Citadel and (10) Furman at 6 p.m. The game airs on the ESPN3.com online as well as the Mocs Sports Network on the radio at US 101 the Legend at 96.1 FM in Chattanooga. Gameday links to video (ESPN3), audio (MSN) and live stats are available on GoMocs.com. Follow @GoMocsMBB on Twitter for live updates.
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ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
- The Mocs are by far the most successful program in the Southern Conference since joining the league in 1977-78. The team has won 28 titles with 10 regular season, 10 tournament and eight division.
- 15 NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1961 (DII), 1973 (DII), 1975 (DII), 1976 (DII Runner-up), 1977 (DII National Champs), 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Sweet 16), 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
- 8 Division Titles: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011
- The 1997 team went to the NCAA Sweet 16 with wins over Georgia and Illinois.
- 5 SoCon Players of the Year: Willie White (1981-82), Keith Nelson (1991-92), Tim Brooks (1992-93), Chad Copeland (1993-94) and Johnny Taylor (1996-97).
- 1 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year: Z. Mason (2014).
- 3 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93) and Will Wade (2014).
- 9 NBA Draft Picks: Walter “Moose” McGary (1973 & '74), William Gordon (1977), Wayne Golden (1977), Russ Schoene (1982), Nick Morken (1982), Willie White (1984), Gerald Wilkins (1985, 13 seasons) and Johnny Taylor (1997 1st Round).
